Tomb Raider: The Blessed Curse
by Selina 'The Cat' Kyle
Summary: Pierre DuPont has discovered a temple, deep in the Amazon Forest. When Lara races to unmask its mysteries, she gets cursed! Now Lara is in a race against time to find the Blessing of Queen Xamballa and live... If she doesn't, she'll die. Review please!
1. Chapter 1

**Note: This story takes place after my first fan fiction, Resurrection**

Chapter 1 :

I look ahead. I watch the stone ledges, unsteady wooden platforms, metal poles and the best thing of all, a huge swishing pool of ice-cold water; and then the prize. The beautiful, elephant shaped silver artifact.

Three arrows zoom from my right. I do a forward flip and dodge two of them. The third arrow grazes my knee. I jump towards the stone ledge and dig my hands into the cracks. I haul myself onto the stone platform and then take a running jump. A six feet gap separates a wooden platform from the stone ledge. I jump towards the platform. My hands grasp the wood and I pull myself onto the shaky platform. The ropes holding the platform are withered and tattered.

The platform shakes beneath my feet. Then the whole thing collapses. Just in time, I jump towards a wooden pole. I climb to the top and balance the balls of my feet on the pole. I jump towards a horizontal metal pole and grab the pole in between my gloved fingers. Then I swing my legs and take a few flips on the horizontal pole. During the third flip, I let go and jump into the pool of water. I dive in deep and pull out my dual Desert Eagles. Two piranhas swim towards me. I shoot them quickly and break the surface of the water.

Quickly, I pull myself on to the toasty, stone ground and grab the silver artifact.

The sound of clapping echoes around the room. I smile and turn myself to face me mother. The lights in my Personal Training Room, or the Croft Manor gym, light up.

My mother pulls me into a hug, wet clothes and all. I grin. "Slick moves, my dear" She says, tucking a lock of brunette hair behind her ear. "Thank you, mother" I say.

"Now, dry off a bit Lara." She says and walks down the gym towards the sitting room. I grab my leather jacket and run out of the gym, my combat boots thwacking against the marble floor. I change into a pair of beige shorts and olive a tank top. Someone knocks on my door.

"Come in" I say and turn my attention to pulling my socks up. Zip enters and sits on a cushy chair. "Lara, you ought to see this" He says and hands me a magazine called **Myths** .

"What, Zip?" I ask and glance at the magazine. I hardly ever read magazines, even if they are about archaeology.

"A new tomb has been discovered in the Amazon forest" He says manically. "Bloody hell; which page?" I ask flipping through the magazine; finally I find a picture of an old, ruined tomb, its walls covered with climbers and almost covered with trees. The whole effect is breathtaking. I shift my eyes to the article written in blue next to the picture.

_The tomb of Queen Xamballa found!_

_Yesterday, May 5th, French Archaeologist, Pierre DuPont discovered the tomb of Queen Xamballa. _

_This search, which had been going on for more than a decade, ended yesterday when Pierre DuPon_

_t found the underground chambers which lead to this fabulous building. _

_Explorers are going to begin their search from May 10th. We wish them luck!_

"I have to go to Amazon... Now" I say, staring at the page.

"Lara, do you even know who this Xamballa is?" Zip asks skeptically.

"Of course. She ruled the Amazon forest in the ancient times!" I say and get up.

"I ve got to go" I say as if in a trance. "Lara, what artifact is going to be in this tomb?" Zip asks, getting up as well. "The essences of Xamballa" I say and go to my closet. I pull out a pair of brown shorts, a black tank top and a pair of knee high black combat boots.

"What is that?" Zip asks.

"The essences of Xamballa are two potions, they were created by Xamballa. One of the potions was a curse and the other was a blessing. Both of them were hidden in her secret tomb." I explain and shut the door to my closet. Then I put on the clothes and slide my feet into the combat boots. I enter the code to my locker and get my dual handguns and my backpack. I pull out my utility belt and ammunition.

Once I am fully equipped, I go to the tech room and type in the password for the locker which contains my grenades. I pull a few out and put them in my backpack.

"Lara, where are you going?" A voice asks serenely from behind. "Mother, I need to go to the Amazon forest. There is this tomb... I'm so sorry, but I really need to..." I try to explain.

"If it s your passion, then I won't stop you." She says and opens her arms. I hug her, inhaling the fragrance of her hair.

I climb the stairs to the helipad of Croft Manor. Dmitri is already there. So is my mother.

"Well, hello, Dmitri You are going to take me to Amazon today." I say, smilingly. "What?" Dmitri removes his aviators and looks at me. "Oh well, Zip will give you the co-ordinates." I say automatically.

Zip appears at my side. "Hey Lara, got the co-ordinates. Here" He says and hands me a paper.

"Okay" I nod to him and put on my earphones. "Stay in touch... I will see you soon, Mother" I say softly to her.

She nods and kisses my forehead.

Then I climb into the helicopter and wave to them.

The copter takes off.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I am not sure how much time has passed. Dmitri s voice echoes around the cabin, "We re directly above the site, Lara. You ll have to jump" He says.  
I show him a thumbs-up and open the door. I jump off into the pool of green below me. Just in time, I open the parachute and land safely into the moss covered ground. I look to the left and spot an excavation sign put up there. I quickly head to the site and grab the hanging rope. The memories of Peru come back to me. I slide down safely to the floor of the site.

I grab a flare from my back and light it. The tunnel glows bright and red. I start walking down the dark tunnel.

After what seems to be half an hour of walking through the tunnel, I reach a moss covered temple. The walls are carved with beautiful designs. Suddenly, the flare goes out.

I pull out two others and light them, and then I throw them onto the ground. I see a door leading out of the circular temple.

I pull out my grapple gun and snap it into my belt. Then I shoot the grapple towards a gold loop. "Bingo" I say and take a running jump towards the door. I put my legs out in front of me and kick the ornate, copper door open. It sends me trembling backwards. But I swing again and push the door harder. This time, it opens and I go forward.

I snap the grapple out of the loop and fall onto the ground. Blood gushes from the wounds on my elbow and knee. I pull out a couple of band-aids and put them on the wounds. After ensuring that the blood flowing from my elbow has curtailed, I stand up and look around. I pull a flare from my backpack and hold it up so I can see the writing on the walls.

"_Xamballa, the third Queen of the Amazon has ruled our world with great care and dignity. The treasures beyond are great. For those who take more than they need, they will pay what the correct price for their greed_. Amazing" I echo and turn my attention towards the other walls of the room.

This room is circular, with ornate carvings of different queens that ruled the forest. I throw the flare on the ground and head towards an iron door in the far end of the room.

I put my hand on the door and push it open. Sunlight streams down from the gaps in the stones on the ceiling. This room is mossy and ruined. On the right is a small, garden-like area. The fog in front of me is blocking my vision. Damn I bite my lips and fan myself as I head out into the open. There is a waterfall ahead of me. "Wow ...It reminds me of the lost valley" I say softly as I head towards the waterfall and the small pond.

I cup some water in my hands and splash it on my face. The water is cool and crystal clear. I look around and find that there is no exit. I bite my lips and grin. Taking a running jump towards the pool of water, I dive down into it.

I keep on swimming down. I see a small hole in the stone ground and swim towards it. After passing it, I reach another pool of water and swim up to the surface. My eyes widen as I see a long room full of traps. I smile to myself as I see what's at the end of the room; A small, golden vase with black carvings.

My prize.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3-

I look towards a huge, cracked column. Swinging my feet and jumping at the same time, I dig my fingers into the cracks and look behind. I grin to myself and think;_ I pulled off a two meter jump!_

I shimmy around the cracks to the other side of the column. I dig my fingers deeper into the cracks and put my feet on the vertical stone wall.

"Hmph" My voice echoes as I jump up onto another crack on top of the first one. I hang on my right hand and take a swift look back. "Here we go" I say to myself as I pump my legs on the column and take a backward flip into the air.

I land on a small, shaky platform. As usual, the wooden platform breaks. But my reflexes aren t quick enough this time.

My left leg goes through the wooden platform and a wood piece pierces the skin of my knee. Ignoring the blisters, I pull my leg up forcefully and examine the wound.

The platform rattles once again. I pull the wooden stick out and take a jump towards the next column.

"Zip?" I say questioningly onto the mike of my headphones.

"Hey Lara... Damn! Look at that!" Zips voice breaks into the headphones.

"What?" I ask, wrapping my knee up in a soggy white bandage from my medipack.

"It's a waterfall!" Zip says.

I put one hand on my earphones and tilt my head, looking ahead.

There is a waterfall. I realize that I haven't been very observant. The column on which I jumped is actually a wall. And bursting out of that wall is and amazingly beautiful, crystal clear waterfall.  
"Like I always say... If all else fails, I can get into the postcard business!" I say, smiling to myself. I crouch down on my right leg and pull out my binoculars.

I zoom into the artifact placed on a small portion of land, barely sticking out of the water.

"It's a vase" I say, getting up.

"No. It s not just a vase. It's a container" Zip says.

"How can you see such small details? The last time you couldn't even see a couple of mercenaries!" I exclaim, looking around for any sign of life.

"Oh well. Technology, technology and technology" Zip sniggers at the other end.

"Oh. Ha ha. How very funny." I say dryly

"Time for a swan dive" I smile to myself and punch my arms into the air.

With a swift jump and my hands thrown out sideways, I fling myself off the wall and feel myself falling down into the waterfall.

The water hurts my face and my body and I feel the divine happiness of having pulled off a fantastic dive.

"Wow. The Croft Manor Gym would never offer such perfect water" I tell Zip and climb up onto solid ground.

I look at the pedestal on which the vase is kept. "Look at those inscriptions" I say.

"I can t read any of them" Zip chuckles.

"Let me read them for you. _'Like the blue moon, is this a curse or a boon?'_" I read out loud for Zip.

"Okay Lara... Can't help you there" Zip says and I can tell that he is chuckling softly to himself.

"This might be the Curse of Xamballa... Or it could be the Blessing of Xamballa" I tell Zip, grabbing the vase frivolously.

"Well well well . Look who it is... Lady Lara Croft. Archaeologist woman" A voice echoes behind me. I immediately recognize it. I turn and spot the man on the ground next to the waterfall.

"Who is that?" Zip asks into the headphone.

"Monsieur DuPont" I smirk.

"Lady Croft. What a pleasant surprise. I myself was planning to take the artifact. So if you would like to return it like a good girl, you may. Or I could persuade you" Pierre says, pointing his Caliber pistol at me.

"Oh that won t be necessary" I say and pull out my pistol from my holster.

Before I can react, Pierre shoots and I dodge instinctively.

The bullet hits the vase and the vase breaks into two. Black liquid comes pouring out and spills onto my hand. My eyes widen.

"You've been cursed, Lady Croft!" Pierre s voice sounds distant.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

My eyes go fuzzy and my knees buckle under my weight. I fall down on the platform.

Zip's voice echoes in my ears "Lara! Lara! What does he mean? What's happening Lara? You okay?"

After a second or two, my eyes turn back to normal. I push myself up and check my hand out. It is coated with black liquid. I put it in the water and wash it off. Nothing feels wrong in my body now. I look at the direction where Pierre had been standing.

"DuPont" I cry, looking around. Then I put the fragments of the vase into my backpack. My breath comes out in slow gasps.

I put one hand to my ears and say " I'm okay, Zip. I need to find the other vase before I die, though", and dive into the water.

"What? Who said anything about dying?" Zip shouts in my ears.

"Well, this curse acts in an hour. Before that, I'll have to drink the other potion so that it won't hurt me I" say as soon as I resurface the water.

"Okay. That makes perfect sense" He says mockingly.

"I know" I say, ignoring his scorn and haul myself onto the warm ground. I pull out my medipack and grab some painkillers. I put them in my mouth and chew on them.

The bitter taste fills my mouth. I begin climbing the wall, slowly, but keeping my hold tight.

"Lara" Zip's voice cracks through my headset. "I'm kind of in a tight spot here, you know" I mutter, taking steady breaths to calm myself. With one last lurch, I land on the top of the wall.

"Phew, you did that in three minutes. New record, Lara!" Zip says, feigning excitement.

I brush away the hair from my eyes and ask "Well, where do we go now?"

"There's a door to your left... But there's no way you're going to reach that!" Zip says.

Immediately, I turn to my left and spot a small doorway, as if embedded into the wall. The space in between the narrow wall on which I am standing, and the doorway, is quite vast. But I can see some tattered ropes hanging from the ceiling and a few poles and ledges that have luckily been broken. But the path seems risky.

A slow smile crosses across my face. _I love risk_. I take a running jump, catch the closest rope and swing towards a column that is sticking out. I dig my fingers into the column and swing towards my right, where a huge, cracked pole is situated. I take a jump towards the pole and wrap my arms around it. Much closer to the doorway, I take a swift jump towards another rope. I swing, getting closer and closer by second, to a ledge that is sticking out of the wall of the temple. My fingers feel warm and sweaty. Scrunching my eyes to get a better look at the doorway, I pull out one hand from the crack and use it to shield my eyes.  
"Lara... What are you thinking?"

"How do I go there?" My voice comes out barely audible.

"Wrong person to answer that question" Zip says, sighing.

"I know." I say automatically. I kick my feet onto the vertical wall and jump towards the doorway. The leverage gives me a good jump.

My hands reach out to cling to the lower edge of the doorway.

Then everything goes slow...

"Crap!" I echo.

"Lara! Damn it!" Zip's voice rings in my ears.

It takes me half a second to realize that my hands never reached the edge.

It takes me two more to realize that I am falling.

I take one look above and a loud crack echoes around the room.

Then the world goes blank...


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Stupid ancients. Stupid civilizations that created stupid artifacts that stupid people like me go racing after and don't make it back alive.

I was nine when I wondered what death would be like.

Would it be peaceful? Like a dreamless, constant sleep. Would I meet the people I had lost? Tell them how sorry I was to disappoint them. I had always expected it to be serene.

Or rather, I had hoped it to be so. If it was peaceful and calm, then my parents would be happy, not suspended in limbo for eternity. Since I blamed myself for my parents death, I had hoped against hope that they would be happy at least on the other side of the world. And together forever...

I had never expected it to be this painful, though. Memories of my father crying after my mother s disappearance, pulling mother back from the dead, leaving Amanda in the flooding temple, kneeling beside a dying Alister and asking him to come back to me... These memories float in my head.

My throat chokes; I take in a huge gulp of air and open my eyes. Sunlight streams through my lashes, hurting my sore eyes. I feel the pounding at the back of my head. My headset hangs off my right ear and my back feels bruised.

"Zip?" I call onto the speaker, holding the crippled headphone to my ears.

I can hear static.

"Lara?" Zip's voice floods my ears.

"Oh god! Thank god! I thought this was the end" I say, rising to my feet before losing my balance and falling down on the ground.

My ankle is sprained, my head is bleeding and my knuckles are raw from hitting the ground so hard.

"You fell almost 15 feet downward! How the heck did you survive?"

"Zip Are you crying?" I can feel the heat radiating off my face. The sweat pouring down my head cools me down.

"Yeah, well it has been exactly 7 hours since your fall. Your mother is not in a good shape."

"Tell her I'm okay, probably concussed though"

"Do you have any first aid supplies?" Zip asks quietly.

"Yes. Wait a second" I reply, pulling a kit out of my backpack.

I pull out a tube from my backpack and apply the ointment to my head wounds. Then I place a bandage over it.

"Lara! Dear, are you okay? How are you? I was worried sick" It is my mother's voice that speaks in my earphone.

"I'm okay. I just can't walk properly" I reply soothingly and try to stand up. My leg gives a small throb but I know I've handled far worse.

So I start to climb my way up the wall and finally reach the doorway. I crawl into it and look around. I emerge into a small room.

There, right before my eyes rests the artifact I've been searching for.

It rests on a marble pedestal, full of carvings and the vase is made of crystal. I can clearly see the blue liquid inside it.

My savior.

I search the room for traps and start to edge towards the pedestal, when the room starts to shake.

"Oh...Oh Shit! Lara, get out of there!" Zip cries into my head.

"No, Zip. Not when I have a chance" I fight my way through the boulders that have started to fall from the walls.

I almost touch the artifact when the whole floor underneath is whisked away.

Or whisked downwards.

I feel the breeze in my hair as I drop down and my leg gives another unpleasant throb.

"Ah, so you couldn't figure it out as well" A snappy voice remarks.

I turn my head slightly to spot Pierre DuPont perched on a large boulder.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

My eyes follow his actions carefully as he moves forward, towards me; taking one cautious step at a time.

"Stay away, or I will have to kill you" I say, my voice rising.

"Very well then, since I spent all of my bullets killing them, I have no choice but to surrender to you, Lady Croft" Pierre says, smiling falsely. My eyes dart towards the corners of the room where two bears lie dead.

"Get down on your knees and tell me how you came here in the first place." I say, my voice never losing its angry touch.

"There was a door, now it's trapped by debris" He explains and points toward what I take are slabs of a crumbled wall.

I contemplate my choices for a moment. There is a small rope hanging down from the remains of the above room's floor. There are two poles beside it that look like they might be easy to climb. And one gold switch beneath the pedestal on which the vial is kept. With a little help from someone, I might just make it back up.

"DuPont" I say, my gun still in his face.

"I smell something cooking" He snickers.

"If you could get to that switch and pull it, the mechanism will work and the rope will come down. We could get out of here" Although I know that Pierre will probably betray me the second he gets out, I have no other chance of getting that potion and living. I check my watch. 36 more minutes.

Not enough time.

"Zip, I need you to send a helicopter to the same co-ordinates in about an hour. Can you do that?" I ask, one hand to my earphone and the other still pointing my handgun at DuPont.

"Yeah. Yeah, sure. Hurry" He reminds me.

I turn to DuPont and say, "Do that for me and I'll reward you handsomely." I try to imitate the voice of Jacqueline Natla.

"There's more to life than money, Lady Croft…" Pierre repeats what I had said to him a year ago in St. Francis Folly, Greece. "But I will do it, since I don't believe in this philosophy" He continues and snickers.

Before I can say anything, he adds, "But my poor foot is out of duty. So, you take that difficult little switch and I will take that rope"

I smile obliviously. Something fishy is going on in here. I just know that Pierre plans to abandon me with the vial as soon as I lower the rope.

"Okay" I lie and try to hatch a plan as I watch him scramble up the pole. Once he gets to the top, I slowly wedge my feet into small cracks and grab ledges to pull me up. My leg aches like hell but I try to ignore it.

Once I reach the switch, I grab it with both my hands and let go the ledge onto which my feet were resting. I feel myself being lowered as the switch slowly comes down.

"Hah!" Pierre's voice echoes as he grabs the rope and flings himself onto the floor of the above room.

"You are so naïve, Lady Croft! Did you believe for one second that I would form an alliance with someone like you?" His voice blares in my ears. I turn my head and grab my handgun from the holster. I put my feet onto the wall and turn.

And I see him about to cut my only chance of escape. I see him pointing a knife at the rope.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"You little rat!" I curse as I shoot about half a dozen bullets at him.

But only one hits him in his wrist. He drops the knife and kneels over in pain.

"I—" Before Zip can say anything, I shout "Don't say anything"

Pierre falls down back into the pit and I push my legs into the wall, gaining leverage and jumping towards a platform.

As soon as I step on it, the platform crumbles. Before it can fall down, I take a fleeting jump towards the top floor and drag myself over, panting.

"That was crap" I mutter onto the headphones as I breathe in.

"You're damn right" Zip says smoothly, although I can hear the hint of a chuckle in his voice.

"Mademoiselle, you'll be damned to hell" DuPont screams from beneath.

"Right now, looks to me like you're the one who's damned to hell" I shout, grinning.

Now to get the prize.

The crystal vase glistens before my eyes.

"Lara, only 15 minutes left for the curse to act"

"I'm working on it!"

I take another running jump at the platform on which the pedestal is situated.

My hands grip the vase and I pull out the stopper without reading the Hieroglyphs on the pedestal.

One gulp. Two.

Three.

I feel the strength returning to my body, my skin regains color and I feel exhilarated.

But nothing happens to my leg. It still aches like shit.

"Lara… How do you feel?" Zip asks.

I look at the hieroglyphs on the pedestal and draw a slight gasp.

_" Here lies the last gift of Xamballa to the world."_

"That can't be all." Zip mutters. "I know… Something isn't right" I whisper to him.

No price to pay for drinking the blessing?

I look around . And then I realize.

"Zip…There's no way out…"

"The way back is blocked by debris…

Drops of sweat trickle down my forehead as I rack my brain for solutions. Just then, I see a pool of water on the other side of the pedestal. I pull out a grenade from my, pull the pin and throw it towards the pedestal, jumping towards the crumbling remains of the upper floor just as the grenade explodes. The hot ash clings to my skin as I make my way towards the collapsed wall. Water is gushing through the hole created by my grenade.

"I hope you can swim, Pierre" I shout to him as I jump into the current, swimming upwards towards the light. The weeds stick to my skin and boots. Quickly, I remove my backpack; looking for a knife. But in the haste, one of the pin of the grenade comes loose. My heartbeat rising in fear, I throw it downwards and try to pull the weeds away. As fast as I can, I swim upwards, trying not to panic. Just as I reach the surface, I feel the blast.

It sends me flailing onto the river bank. My throat aches as I swallow the water of the river. My foot is simply agony. "Zip…" I groan

"The copter's coming, Lara"

"Thank God…" I breathe.

He's correct as the helicopter lands right next to me in another fifteen or twenty minutes and I make my way over to it and collapse on the seat.

I played with my life today.

But aren't there worse games to play?


End file.
